Sorry for the long title, it happens. I kind of fell down the rabbit hole with it…. Okay I’ll stop.

So, if you can’t tell by the numerous rabbit hole references I’ve made, this post is about Alice in Wonderland! So, we read Lewis Carrol’s masterpiece in class over the past few months, and I really enjoyed it. But it didn’t stop there, no. We got to write an essay!

So, here’s the thing. I don’t write essays very often. May come as a shock that I don’t decide to sit down and write an essay in my spare time, but I never really wrote them in elementary school. I wrote one, about how pie is better than cake. Yes, I think that. Fight me. No, don’t fight me, that’s a bad idea.

Anyways, back on track. We got the options of two topics for our essay. Either “what Draws us To Imaginary Worlds?” Or “How Does Lewis Carrol Create An Imaginary World in Alice and Wonderland?”. We got one class to plan, and then the next class we had to bring our plan, which included our three paragraph sentences as well as some quotes. And then we had to write the test….. in 45 minutes.

It was surprisingly a long amount of time, I managed to finish ten minutes early. But enough about that, here’s my essay:

Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Alice In Wonderland. These are all very well known titles, and very popular stories. The authors all draw us into the fantasy genre, in a way that’s very unique. A way that no other genre really can. We all love the classic stories, and there’s a very good reason for that. Authors draw us into imaginary worlds by letting us escape from reality, with the appeal of being the hero, and the way that the stories mirror reality and real life issues.

Real life is hard, we all know this. With bills, homework, politics. Fantasy gives us a way to escape from the stresses of reality. We all like the idea of falling down the rabbit hole. As said in Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, “Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end!” (Carrol, 9). It’s a very fun idea to entertain the impossible, to be able to escape into this imaginary world that immerses us. These fantastical worlds let us entertain the idea of a simpler life, with spells that can fix any problem and heroes to save the day. As well as having a distinct contrast between what is wrong and what is right. The fantasy genre lets us escape from the stresses and issues of reality into a simpler life, in a way that other genres cannot.

There is also the appeal of being the hero, the one to save the day. People can all relate to the protagonist of a story, the underdog who rises up. Everyone has been the underdog at some point in their life, whether it was at school or later on in life. Not everyone is liked all the time, much like most protagonists of stories, and we can relate to and become the hero. Everyone always wants their own adventure, to break away from reality. Being with “the voyages of the starship Enterprise” (Roddenberry) is so appealing. We are attracted to imaginary worlds because we get our own adventure to Mordor, or to fall down the rabbit hole. It’s very attractive, the idea of being the strong and courageous hero, because sometimes we don’t have that courage ourselves.

Fantasy and imaginary worlds are very attractive in another way, because it mirrors and helps us understand reality. The origins of the fantasy genre were people making up tales to cope with not being able to understand. Seamen were seeing mermaids instead of fish, and the creaks of the house at night were large monsters. It was all a way to cope with not being able to understand what they’d really seen. As well, the issues do tend to mirror the reality of life. The Queen of Hearts in Alice was a mirror to the government from long ago, in France, possibly. “Off with their heads!” (Carrol). It’s a way to help us understand the impossible and mirror reality in a way that is easier to comprehend.

We are all drawn to imaginary worlds, in one way or another. Whether it be wanting to be the hero and to have an adventure, to escape from the hardship of reality and entertain an easier way. Or to understand the unknown and make up our own small stories. Fantasy is a truly fascinating way of drawing readers in, and letting us be someone else or somewhere else. Whether we’re chasing a white rabbit or flying in the Millennium Falcon. It’s a genre that draws everyone in, and is a great way to escape for a little while. Fantasy draws us in, and it never leaves us to be disappointed.

So that was my essay! I hope you enjoyed reading it, I worked hard on it! This really helped me expand my literary skills, and learning how to intergrate quotes into my writing.

Read ya later,

Ruby